As the season progresses and the 2017 Red Sox become one of the most hated teams in Boston sports history, they are finding new ways to lose these days. After a brilliant start by Drew Pomeranz, the Sox carried a 3-1 lead into the top of the eighth when Matt Barnes imploded. 4 runs later the Sox were defeated 5-3 at Fenway Park as fans pelted the team with garbage after the final out.
Things started out well in the top of the first when Pomeranz got Whit Merrifield to pop up to short to begin. Jorge Bonifacio struck out but Lorenzo Cain singled. Eric Hosmer struck out to end the inning. Royals starter Jason Hammel cruised in the bottom of the first inning. Mookie Betts grounded out to second, Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short and Andrew Benintendi grounded out to first to end the inning.
Salvador Perez singled to open the top of the second inning and moved to second on the Alcides Escobar sacrifice bunt. Alex Gordon lined out to center and Ramon Torres lined out to second inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second inning when Hanley Ramirez got it started with a base hit. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left and Xander Bogaerts lofted a sinking liner to right....DROPPED BY CAIN! Ramirez motored to third and he scored on the Mitch Moreland single. Christian Vazquez singled home Bogaerts and the Sox had Hammel on the ropes. Just like that the rally ended when Rafael Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning. Still, the Sox had 2-0 but they wasted a chance to deliver the knockout punch.
Pomeranz cruised in the top of the third inning when Drew Butera popped up to second to begin. Merrifield grounded out to short and Bonifacio grounded out to second to end the inning. Hammel turned up the heat in the bottom of the third by striking out Betts to begin the inning. Nunez was plunked and stole second on the Benintendi strikeout. Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
Pomeranz got tagged in the top of the fourth inning as Cain and Hosmer stroked back to back singles. Perez banged into a double play but Escobar doubled home Cain. Gordon was plunked but Torres grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Hammel got out of the bottom of the fourth with no damage as JBJ flied out to center to start. Bogaerts whiffed but Moreland doubled. Vazquez popped up to second to end the inning.
Butera singled to open the top of the fifth inning but Merrifield grounded into a double play. Bonifacio grounded out to end the inning. Devers lit up the crowd with a solo home run off the top of the Monster to increase the lead to open the bottom of the fifth. Betts and Nunez whiffed before Benintendi grounded out to end the inning. The rookie's homer made it 3-1 Sox.
Pomeranz worked some Houdini magic in the top of the sixth when Cain led off with a triple. Devers dove to rob Hosmer of an rbi single before Perez whiffed. Escobar lined out to third to end the inning. Great effort by Pomeranz. The Sox failed to capitalize in the bottom of the sixth although Ramirez singled to start. JBJ banged into a double play to kill the rally and Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Pomeranz returned for the top of the seventh and got Gordon to line out. Torres struck out but Butera walked. All of a sudden Sox manager John Farrell realized Pomeranz had a chance to go seven so he sprinted out of the dugout and threw a bag of sunflower seeds at Pomeranz, chasing him away. Brandon Workman materialized out of nowhere and gave up a double to Merrifield before striking out Bonifacio to end the inning. Pomeranz tossed 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball to put the Sox in position to win.
The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the seventh as Moreland lined out to second, Vazquez flied out to center and Devers flied out to left to end the inning.
Things went south real fast in the top of the eighth with Matt Barnes on the mound. Cain lofted a playable ground ball to Bogaerts who decided to belly flop on the ball like a grenade for an error. Hosmer singled off the glove of Barnes and Perez singled to load the bases. Escobar hit a seeing eye single to right to score Cain and Hosmer. Betts inexplicably tried to throw to first to get Escobar and the throw sailed into the dugout, allowing Perez to move to third. That was it for Barnes as two errors and 3 singles had the game tied with nobody out. Robby Scott came in and immediately gave the game away with a triple to Gordon to give the Royals the lead. Torres whiffed and Butera grounded out to short as Sox manager John Farrell replaced Scott with Heath Hembree. Merrifield flied out to right to end the inning but THUNDEROUS boos rained down on the Sox as a 3-1 lead turned into a 5-3 sure loss.
Brandon Maurer replaced Hammel in the bottom of the eighth although Betts greeted him with a single to bring the tying run to the plate. The Sox would get no further as Nunez hit one up the elevator shaft, Benintendi lined out to right and the big hitter Ramirez meekly popped up to second to end the inning to draw more boos from the crowd.
Hembree returned for the top of the ninth and got Bonifacio swinging to start. Cain flied out to center and Hosmer grounded out to second to end the inning. Kelvin Herrera replaced Maurer to close out the bottom of the ninth, although JBJ gave a glimmer of hope with a leadoff walk. Bogaerts flied out to center and Moreland struck out. Vazquez singled and both runners pulled off a double steal. Devers walked to load the bases with Brock Holt running for Devers. With a chance to tie or win the game....Betts flied out to center to end the game. The un-clutch, unlikable Sox had lost 5-3.
Jackass of the Night is Matt Barnes. He gave up 4 runs without even getting a single out in the top of the eighth
The Good:
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a stolen base.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk including a solo home run.
Drew Pomeranz threw 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball and deserved the win.
Brandon Workman got the final out of the seventh inning.
Heath Hembree pitched 1 1/3 scoreless inmings.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 3 but stole a base.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a run scored and his error led to the demise in the 8th inning.
Robby Scott gave up the go-ahead triple but got the next two guys out.
Honorable Mention:
Brock Holt pinch ran for Devers in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
As the season continues to spiral down the drain, it is a total shame considering this year started with so much promise. Then again, the signs for the demise were apparent early. Travis Shaw has become a superstar in Milwaukee while Dave Dombrowski put all his faith behind Pablo Sandoval, which ended miserably. Now the Red Sox have to rely on a 20 year old rookie when they could have had 30 home runs from Travis Shaw instead. If that wasn't bad enough, the guy Shae was traded for won't even throw a pitch this season. Rick Porcello reverted back to 2015 and David Price couldn't stay healthy. Steven Wright never got out of the box and Doug Fister has been a bust to this point. I don't think there is anything Dave debroski can do to salvage the season at this point. The loss drops the Sox to 57-49, percentage points ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Cleveland Indians come to town to beat up the Red Sox. Doug Fister will take the pounding while Mike Clevinger dominates beginning at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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